§ Lord Lester of Herne Hillasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether, in the light of the Appendix to Resolution DH(97)507 of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe in the Goodwin case, they will take steps to draw to the attention of the United Kingdom courts the Government's opinion that United Kingdom courts will not fail to take the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights into account when interpreting the national legislation at issue in order to avoid the problem posed in the Goodwin case.
§ The Lord Chancellor (Lord Irvine of Lairg)In any particular case it is the duty of Counsel, and not of Her Majesty's Government, to decide whether to draw a judgment of the European Court of Human Rights to the attention of the court. It is for the court to decide what weight to attach to the judgment in all the circumstances of the case. The same applies to Resolutions of the Committee of Ministers, which are also publicly available.